


The Other Side

by CupOdaddy



Category: IT (1990), IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: 1990's Eddie Kaspbrak, 1990's Eddie Kaspbrak x 2017 Richie Tozier, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Pennywise (IT), Basically watered down Boreo dont @me, Beverly Marsh & Richie Tozier Are Best Friends, Bisexual Richie Tozier, Blonde Eddie Kaspbrak, Cliche Soft Boy x Bad boy, Drinking, Eddie is a cute librarian, Eddie lives with his mom and deals with it, Eddie starts out innocent and uwu but Richie corrupts him, Eddie victim blames himself, Future smut questionmark, Gay Eddie Kaspbrak, Innocent Eddie Kaspbrak, M/M, More tags to come later, Smoking, Soft Eddie Kaspbrak, but at the same time a good one, he gonna snap tho, just deals with the bs, richie is a bad influence, the more Eddie hands out with Richie the sassier he gets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:27:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27254923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CupOdaddy/pseuds/CupOdaddy
Summary: [1990's Eddie Kaspbrak x 2017 Richie Tozier because I needed to do this]His life was simple,  Really.  He would spend most of the days in the library; his safe place.Eddie rows with the flow, forgave his mother when he figured out that he was never sick at all. He still loved her in the end.But he wasn't really happy.[College AU]Warning: very purposely cheesy
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 3
Kudos: 6





	The Other Side

**Author's Note:**

> Oh yee fucking haw 
> 
> So I fell in love with 1990's Eddie Kaspbrak. 
> 
> That's it. He a blonde softy who needs to be hugged 
> 
> English is my second language, I apologize for inconsistencies or misspellings 
> 
> Or overall shitty writing :')) I'm trying my best

So many books, all neatly lined up with their spines facing outward, some brand new, some coated with a thin layer of dust which they wore proudly (or sadly), displaying their wisdom against the old wooden shelves. 

The library was almost empty, only a handful of people browsing about, most on the computers the library provided to those who either found more comfort and inspiration working in such a peaceful environment, or to those who simply couldn't afford a computer or laptop; something that was very essential to college since pretty much all work sent to you was online. 

It was a nice and quiet day, which was pretty rare for a Friday. Usually the weekends were quite busy at least outside the library; so many students out and about with their friends enjoying how perfect the weather was. But today was pretty slow, just like Eddie liked it. 

It was peaceful: only hearing the sounds of the pages graze against each other as they were turned, the soft sound of the keyboard being tapped busily as the students worked, or the occasional murmur. It was simple, yes. Some would call this environment boring. But Eddie found peace in it. 

The Library was the only place he could really breathe and clear his head of the occasional negative thought or two that would invade his mind. It was his safe haven away from home and from class. 

All his worries would just melt away working here. 

Don't get him wrong, he loved focusing on studies and he loved his home. 

But there were times he needed a break. And, weirdly enough, working was his break from everything. 

And all he had to do was sit at the desk of the library, waiting for someone to either return a book, borrow it, or use the computers. 

Such a simple life he lived. Eddie didn't mind though. He was beyond grateful for having the opportunity of being in a place like this. 

Convincing his mom to even let him apply for the job was pretty hard. He had to explain to her all the benefits of him finally generating his own income, how she wouldn't have to worry too much about the things Eddie needed. She reluctantly agreed, making Eddie  _ promise _ that he would be safe. 

He did promise, the library was the safest place he could be in, really. And he would finally be able to stop leaching off his mother. It was kinda sad how excited the boy got when he was finally able to buy his own clothes for the first time in his twenty years. His mother made him double wash everything, but still. These were things he picked out for himself, and he was beyond happy when he finally got to wear them for the first time. Sure, he had no one to show. But... It was okay. He didn't need anyone to approve of what he did other than himself and his mom. 

"Eddie, for the love of  _ god _ " the sudden voice made the blonde almost jump out of his chair, he looked up at the very disappointed woman who had her arms crossed, Eddie only put a hand to his chest and exhaled, giving her a small innocent smile. 

"Hey Katie" he said with a small hint of excitement laced in his voice, she really was the only other person in the world who spoke to him. Albeit she wasn't too much of a people person, it still felt refreshing hearing someone else's voice speak to him. "Need anything?" 

"I need you to get out of my chair, Kaspbrak, your shift is over" Eddie furrowed his brows, shooting her with a confused look before checking the time on his wristwatch. It was 12:13pm 

" _ oh shoot _ " Eddie sighed, expression quickly turning apologetic. "I didn't realize I was going overtime. I'm sorry" Katie only rolled her eyes and gave him a small smile, she really couldn't stay mad at him. Eddie got out of the swivel chair, clearing the desk of his things before getting out of the way for the woman. 

She responded by sitting down with a sigh, placing her purse and phone on the desk. "thanks Blondie" she gave him a toothy smile "go enjoy your Friday man, sucks seeing you here all the time. You don't have a Girlfriend or something?  _ Friends _ ?"

Eddie grimaced at the words, quickly shaking his head no. "I don't have time for that..  _ Stuff _ ." He lied. 

She only shrugged, eyes averting from Eddie as her phone received a notification, giving Eddie just enough time to just turn his back on her and leave before she started to ask any more questions. 

It was a touchy subject he never knew how to properly respond to. Because yes, he had the time. Eddie just didn't..  _ Want to _ . He didn't need it, that's what he told himself whenever anyone reminded him of such. 

All he needed was his mother. And Eddie was happy with that, he loved his mother so much no matter the lies she fed him with. He never stopped loving her even when he found out that his inhaler was actually tap water and that he actually never had any asthma. 

Eddie didn't know why he forgave her so quickly, maybe because she was the only person who actually cared for him in his life. Well, she was pretty much the only person in his life. 

He was happy. It was okay. 

He took a deep breath, pace quickening the second he left the old bricked building he called his safe place behind. Eddie felt his breath hitch, a hand flying down to grab the inhaler which sat comfortably in his front left pocket. Even though it was only medicine flavored water, it still helped him when he had his 'asthma attacks' 

But before he could even take a puff, Eddie collided with someone, inhaler flying out of his hand and onto the dirty concrete. 

"what the fuck! Watch where you're going--" Eddie tensed at the voice, fearfully looking up at the much taller figure who's angry expression seemed to falter. 

"I'm s-sorry I just--" he couldn't even explain himself, he gasped for air and looked at the ground in a panic. The taller guy seemed to catch on, because suddenly Eddie was presented with his inhaler by the guy, long fingers wrapped around it.

Eddie grabbed it, dusted it off before putting it against his lips, taking a few puffs before finally taking the deep breath he so desperately needed. "thank you" he said breathlessly, giving the stranger a sheepish smile. 

He had never seen this man around before, well, Eddie didn't go out much to even  _ notice _ anyone really. But he did recognize the people who consistently visited the library. And Eddie was positive he's  _ never _ seen this man in there. The stranger didn't t seem like the type to ever touch a book anyways, Wild dark curls which pointed in every possible direction he could ever imagine, large glasses which a lense so thick it made his eyes kind of comically large,very loud and kind of obnoxious hawaiian shirt with draped over the simple white t-shirt he had underneath, and some simple jeans and sneakers. 

Eddie found out that the combination was rather…  _ charming?  _ His mother would been horrified at the sigh of this man, his smile couldn't help but get a little wider. 

"Hey, no problemo shorty" Eddie raised his brows in amusement at the nickname. "Name's Richie, but you can call me your Knight in shining armour seeing as I just saved your life and all" Richie bowed dramatically at that. 

"you didn't-- I wasn't going to  _ die _ " Eddie rolled his eyes, but kept his smile anyways. "I'm Edward, but everyone calls me Eddie" he offered a hand to Richie, who took it proudly and shook it with a firm and strong grasp and a dumb smile on his face which gave Eddie butterflies. 

"nice to meet ya, Eds. Never seen you around before, you new here or somethin'?" Eddie shook his head. 

"ah, not really? Been in campus for five months, and in Derry for as long as I can remember, actually. " he said with a shrug.

Richie seemed surprised at this. "wait really?" Eddie confirmed him with a nod "what the fuck. Where have you been hiding? Because I'm sure as all hell I would never miss such a cute guy walking around here before."

_ Cute? _

Eddie's cheeks flushed furiously, he averted his eyes from Richie in the hopes that he wouldn't notice.  _ No one… _ _ has ever called him cute before..  _ _ Well _ ,  _ no other guy has called him cute before, really.  _

No one like  _ Richie. _

Eddie looked back up at the taller guy and gave him the stupidest smile he could form without seeming too flustered by this whole interaction "y-you're not too bad yourself"  _ oh god that was terrible, absolutely horrendous. _

Yet Richie seemed to like it, judging by his sudden snort and laugh. He got a little closer to Eddie and raised his hand up close to the blonde's face, all the sudden he was pinching Eddie's cheek softly between his fingers. 

"you're so goddamn adorable,  _ what the hell _ " the boy said in disbelief, and Eddie felt like he could die right then and there. 

_ Was this really happening? _

Or was Eddie completely misinterpreting the situation? His heart began racing at the thought of this being some joke. It wouldn't be the first time someone pulled something similar. 

"Are you making fun of me?" The blonde asked quite sadly, brows furrowed for a moment. Richie immediately dropped his hand and shook his head, smile never faltering. 

"Nah, I just think I fell in love or something. Is this how it feels like? Love at first sight?" Richie put a hand dramatically to where his heart would be as he swooned, Eddie only raised a brow in doubt. 

" _ beep beep Richie _ , I know" Richie said very matter'o'factly. But Eddie in fact did not know. And the other seemed to pick up at the very obvious confusion on the blonde's face. 

"it's just something my friends tell me when I keep saying stupid shit and never shut up." Richie explained with a shrugged. And Eddie nodded. Still very confused. 

"Beep beep then?" Eddie said with a slight bit of hesitance, a small smile curving onto his lips. Richie laughed, and Eddie quickly realized how much he loved that sound and would do anything to hear it over and over again. 

"Look, i have some shit I gotta do. But uh--" he pulled out a phone from his pocket and quickly unblocked it before handing it over to Eddie. "can I get your number? I would like, fucking hate myself if I walked outta here without never talking to you again. But I mean-- it's fine if you don't want to?" 

Eddie bit at his lower lip, his mother had gotten him a phone with the sole purpose of using it for school and to call her only, Eddie didn't even use it much anyways, he even had a default wallpaper. 

" _ sure _ " he blurted out all the sudden, grabbing the device out of Richie's hand before going into his contacts to put his number in. 

He typed in his number, then set his name as ' _ Eddie Kaspbrak _ ' 

He quickly handed the phone over once he was done, an excited smile twisted on his lips. Eddie still couldn't believe this was happening, but at the same time it was pretty unnerving. 

  
  


Richie grabbed his phone and shoved it in his back pocket "I'll text you soon so you can save my number, it was nice meeting you, spaghedds!" The boy ruffled Eddie's blonde hair with his fingers before running off to, Eddie figured, a class or job. 

And as soon as he was out of eyeshot. Eddie felt his phone vibrate, he grabbed it. Unlocked it and smiled immediately at the message 

**Unknown number: Hey cutie ;)**

Eddie quickly saved the number onto his contacts 

**[Richie] thanks for giving me hope that Derry isn't just full of ugly mugs. We pretty people have to stick together okay Eds?**

**[Eddie] haha sure :)**

**[Eddie] sorry for crashing into you, by the way!**

**[Eddie] and don't call Eds. It's weird giving my nickname a nickname.**

  
  


Suddenly, Eddie was receiving a call. The boy panicked for a small moment, thinking it was Richie the one calling for, but his caller id read  _ 'Mommy <3'  _

Right. He was supposed to be at home forever ago. He picked up the phone and was immediately met with the voice of his panicked mother. She sounded like she'd been crying, Eddie frowned at the thought. 

"Oh Eddie-bear! Where are you?! Are you okay?

"Sorry mommy I got distracted by work, I'm on my way" Eddie tried to reassure her, but it only made her breathing quicken and her crying a little louder. 

"I was worried sick Eddie! You never answered my calls so I was going to call the cops!" 

Eddie furrowed his brows, his mother had been calling him? He pulled the phone away from his ear for a moment, and surely enough, he had a few missed calls from his mom. How did he not notice this? He sighed and put the phone back to his ear. 

"I'm sorry ma', I put my phone on vibrate when I'm in the library, I must've never noticed. But I promise I'm fine! I'm almost home okay?" she only gave him a few strained "okay"s before finally hanging up. 

He hated how worried he made his mother worry. Eddie loved her dearly. Why was his jaw so tense? 

Eddie power walked home, he could've gotten the bus but his mother always made sure that he'd scrub his skin clean afterwards since she was worried sick about any  _ germs _ he picked up along the way. He saved himself that trouble and decided that the 20 minute power walk wasn't  _ too  _ bad. Better than leaving your skin Red and raw and  _ aching _ . 

But it was okay. She was just scared of him getting sick. 

"oh Eddie, is that you?" he heard his mother call out as soon as he entered his home. He felt his chest tighten. 

"yeah it's me, mommy" he responded, walking over towards the sofa she was always in. She practically lived there at this point. Sonia really only got up if she absolutely  _ had  _ to. 

But Eddie pretty much did everything around the house, the cleaning, the cooking. He didn't mind though, he understood that his mother was getting old and that it was his turn to take care of her now. 

It at least kept him busy, despite his mother overly criticizing every single thing that he did. She was never happy,  _ never.  _

"Are you okay baby? You didn't get hurt right?"

"No, Ma. I just got caught up with work" he pressed his lips together all the sudden, should he tell her about his encounter with Richie?

She looked at him doubtfully, eyes seeming to scan every inch of Eddie's body to see if he was lying. It hurt, the fact that his mother didn't trust him.

The fact that she didn't trust Eddie enough to look after himself, but he didn't let it bother him for too long. "Go take a shower Eddie-bear" She said with some disgust laced in her voice, Eddie nodded in compliance and went upstairs to the bathroom near his bedroom. 

He hoped his mom didn't hear him have an 'asthma' attack while in the shower.

It always happened whenever she spoke to him and Eddie didn't exactly know  _ why _ . He knew he loved his mom, dearly so. But the way she treated him always made him breakdown secretly. 

It was okay, though. It was just something he had to deal with. Eddie was living under her roof, under her rules. And he had to respect that. He should be grateful she even granted him the opportunity to stay with her and not have to worry about rent. 

She provided for him, albeit Eddie wanted to seek his own independence and he basically had to fight for it.. Still. 

_ Still.  _

Eddie got out of the shower, one towel wrapped around his damp hair, and one around his naked as he entered his bedroom, his mom pretty much forced him to wash his hair every single day, and Eddie had learned to hate the feeling of his wet hair against his neck. 

He quickly threw on some simple clothes; a big blue t-shirt which hung very loosely around his limbs, making him appear smaller than what he actually was (still pretty small), and some red jogger shorts. 

After getting dressed, the blonde got ready to do what he did best other than his job; Study and complete overdue work. Which wasn't much thankfully since Eddie was pretty responsible.  _ Kind of.  _

Sometimes he  _ did  _ let his emotions get the best of him, letting work slip up right under him. 

It was pretty unusual, but Eddie hated owning stuff since his mother always got on his case about it (yes she was always barging into his room to check). Eddie never made her proud, but he would rather make Sonia give him a neutral (but doubtful) look rather than tell him how he's going to fail and be a disgrace to the family name. 

Because yes. She did that quite a lot. 

Now shaky hands propped the laptop on his knees as he sat against the headboard of his bed, a long sigh escaping his lips. 

**_Bzzzz_ **

Eddie raised a brow and looked at the phone on his drawer, eyes narrowing a bit before he grabbed the device 

**[Richie: 5 unread messages]**

He quickly tapped on Richie's name 

**[Richie] oh come on Eds, it suits ya ;)**

**[Richie] and don't b sorry eddie my dear, it was a pleasure knocking into u**

**[Richie] maybe next time we can do a different type of knocking if ya know what I mean wink wink nudge nudge**

**[Richie] okay I'm jokinnggggg**

**[Richie] partially**

**[Eddie] hey sorry. Had to power walk home and I immediately took a shower once I got home :))**

**[Eddie] what type of knocking?**

**[Richie] oooo pics or it didn't happen**

**[Richie] oh you sweet summer child**

**[Eddie] pictures.. Of my shower?? What??**

**[Richie] Eddie omg**

**[Richie] ur gonna kill me.**

**[Eddie] I can take a picture of my shower if that's what you want?? But I mean I finished already so**

**[Richie] That's not what I meant**

**[Eddie] I'm so confused :(**

**[Richie] nudes Eddie. It means nudes.**

**[Richie] it's a dumb joke I'm sry**

**[Eddie] oh**

**[Eddie: picture attached] selfieofEddiegivinganinnocentthumbsup.png**

**[Eddie] hope this will suffice ;)**

**[Richie] OOOHHH BABY**

**[Richie] ur so cute oh fuckk**

**[Richie] brb gonna die real quick** **cuz of ur CUTENESS**

With that, Eddie smiled dumbly at the message, cheeks a little flushed with both embarrassment and amusement before setting the phone down besides him to finally focus on his work. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Let's see if I finally finish something for once! 
> 
> Comments very much appreciated <<3


End file.
